Circuit controlling device



Aug. 19, 1941- H. K. KRANTZ I CIRCUIT CONTROLLING DEVICE s Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Feb. 14, 1940 INVENTOR H K.

By KfQA/VTZ AYTTORNEV Aug. 19, 1941. H. K. KRANTZ 2,253,335

CIRCUIT CONTROLLING DEVI CE Filed Feb. 14, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVfNTOR By H. K. KRANTZ A TTORNFV Aug. H. K." KRANTZ I 2,253,335

CIRCUIT CONTROLLING DEVICE Filed Feb. 14, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 6

FIG. .9

FIG. /0 Ha.

IN M? N TOR )0 ,0 By HK. KRA/VTZ ATTORNFP Patented Aug. 19, 1941 CIRCUITCGNTROLLING DEVICE Hubert K. Krantz, Rockville Centre, N. Y., assignorto Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application February 14, 1940, Serial No.318,812

9 Claims.

This invention relates to circuit controlling devices and particularlyto manually operable contacting devices for use in telephonecommunication systems.

The object of the invention is to simplify the construction of manuallyoperable circuit controlling devices of the type in which a plurality ofindependent contact spring assemblies are separately controlled bya'single manually operable actuating device.

Heretofore, manually operable circuit controlling devices have beenprovided in which a key, or its equivalent, is operated in two differentways to actuate different sets of contacts to effect two distinctcircuits. Such keys find use in telephone systems wherein an operator iscalled upon to first associate her telephone set with a calling line andsubsequently, to apply signaling current to a called line. In general, alever type key mounted on the shelf of the telephone switchboard hasbeen used for this purpose which, when actuated in one direction, servesto connect the operators telephone set with the calling line and, whenactuated in'another direction, functions to connect a source of ringingcurrent to the called line.

In recent development of the telephone switchboard it has been founddesirable to locate the actual circuit controlling mechanism at the rearof the board in a space comp-arable to that ordinarily occupied by atelephone relay, and to render such control device operable from thefront or face of the board. Switching devices of the prior art do notreadily lend themselves for mounting in this manner.

According to the present invention, advantages over devices of the priorart are secured by constructing the circuit controller per se, in such amanner that the separate spring assemblies are.

mounted parallel to one another on either side of a mounting frame whichmay be readily carried by the apparatus support at the rear of theboard, and by providing manually operable means, in the nature of aplunger capable of rotary and longitudinal displacements, for separatelyoperating the spring assemblies, the plunger being adapted to beactuated in a rotary manner and longitudinally from the front of theswitchboard. More specifically, the plunger acts upon a separate rockerarm during each of its rotary and longitudinal displacements in such amanner that each of the spring assemblies is actuated in substantiallythe same manner, thus obviating the necessity for mounting one springassembly in such a manner as to be influenced directly by the rotarymovement of the plunger and the other spring assembly at right angles tothe first assembly so as to be controlled directly by the longitudinalthrust of the plunger.

A related feature of the invention resides in the use, in a structure ofthe type described above, of cooperating guide slots cut into the sideof the mounting frame and of means carried by the plunger and'adapted tobe selectively engaged in either thereof to effect the respective rotaryand longitudinal displacements of the plunger, said means functioning insaid slots in such a manner as to preclude the possibility ofsimultaneous rotary and longitudinal displacements of the plunger.

The invention will be readily understood from the following detaileddescription made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a telephone switchboard with sections ofthe superstructure broken away to disclose the relationship of theswitching device of this invention to other equipment of which theswitchboard is made up; Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of the switchingdevice of the present invention illustrating the manner in which it ismounted on the switchboard, a portion of which is outlined in brokenlines;

Figs. 3 is a side view of the switching key with a portion of one of therocker arms broken away to disclose the mechanism located beneath it;

Fig. 4 is a top view of the switching key without the handle anduniversal coupling between the plunger and operating shaft;

Fig. 5 is a view of the switching key taken along the line 55 of Fig, 3looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a view of the switching key corresponding to Fig. 4 with aportion of the mounting frame removed and in which the plunger has beenrotated to effect the actuation of the upper spring assembly shown inthe figure;

Fig. 7 is a view corresponding substantially to Fig. 6 and in which theplunger has been displaced longitudinally to effect the actuation of thelower spring assembly;

Fig. 8 is an end view taken along the line 88 of Fig. 4 looking in thedirection of the arrows;

Fig. 9 is a view substantially similar to Fig. 8 and in which theplunger shaft has been rotated, and

Figs. 10 and 11 are views of portions of the two sides of the mountingbracket showing the apertures therein which serve as interlock and stopsfor the operating shaft of the switch.

The following description is made with particular reference to Figs. 3to 9, inclusive.

The switching device of this invention is in reality a push-turn key andhas a substantially U-shaped mounting bracket In which serves to supportall the elements of which the device is composed. The bracket I isprovided with two shelf-like integral projections II and I2, the formerextending upwardly (viewing Fig. 3) from the outer edge of one of theparallel arms of the bracket near the cross-piece I3, whereas the latterextends downwardly from the inner edge of the other parallel arm of thebracket, also near the cross-piece I3. Upon these shelf-like extensionsare mounted the spring pile-ups I4 and I5, the

spring pile-up I4 being secured to the extension I I by means of screwsI6, while the spring pile-up I5 is secured to the extension I2 by meansof screws I1. The contact springs of the two spring pile-ups runparallel to the longitudinal axis of the frame ID and, as described, aremounted on either side thereof.

At the front end of the bracket II] a substantially square metal pieceI8 is interposed between the outer extremities of the two parallel armsof the bracket I0 and is provided with two lugs I9 on each of two of itsopposite edges which fit into corresponding holes in the two arms of thebracket. The lugs I9, after passing through the bracket holes, arestaked over to hold the piece I8 against displacement. Thus, the twoparallel arms of the bracket are permanently held in spaced relation.

A substantially rectangular-shaped insulator is secured to the metalpiece I8 by means of screws 2| and is spaced from the ends of thebracket arms by means of bushings 22 through which the screws 2I pass toengage threaded holes in the piece I8. On its two longer sides, theinsulator 2D is notched to provide seats upon which the contact springtangs rest.

The cross-bar I3 and the metal piece I8 are each provided with acircular opening into each of which is tightly fitted a brass collar 23,24; the former projecting inwardly from the inner face of the cross-barI3 and being flush with its outer face, and the latter projectinginwardly from the inner face of the metal piece I3 and being flush withits outer surface. These collars or bushings provide bearings for theplunger shaft 25 whose inner end extends through a circular aperture inthe insulator 29, which aperture is in alignment with the opening in thecollar 24.

Fixedly associated with the shaft 25 by means of a pin is a spool 29,one head of which com.- prises a notched disc 23 and the other head ofwhich is provided with a centrally located boss against which theforward face of a tapered element or cone 21 abuts. The cone 21 isloosely fitted to the shaft 25 and is held against substantiallongitudinal movement relative to the shaft by the rear head of spool 29and pin 3|. The cone is thus made subject to the longitudinal movementsof the shaft but is free to rotate independently thereof. The bossreduces the area of contact between the spoolhead and the front face ofthe cone. A washer 30 fits over the shaft 25 just ahead of the smallerend of the cone 21 and is separated therefrom by the pin 3| whichextends through the shaft as clearly disclosed in Fig. 5. Encircling theshaft 25 between the washcr 3!] and the front face of bushing 24 is acompression spring 32 which tends to hold the shaft 25 againstlongitudinal movement and which serves to restore the shaft to normalposition after it has been longitudinally actuated as will be moreparticularly described hereinafter.

Interposed between the forward end of the tapered element or cone 21 andthe rear face of the disc 28 is a hollow cylindrical roller 33 which isadapted to rotate on a pin whose ends are staked or otherwise secured tothe tapered element 21 and disc 28. The function of this roller willappear from a description to be made hereinafter. The tapered element 21near its larger end is provided with an annular groove 35 for a purposeto be indicated later.

The upper and lower edges of each of the parallel arms of the U-shapedbracket ID are each provided with a small hole located at a pointsubstantially equidistant from the ends of the parallel arms andslightly nearer the rearward ends. These holes accommodate pins 36, eachof which bridges the two arms of the bracket IO. Each pin 36 provides amounting for a substantially J-shaped rocker arm 31, each of which isprovided with a pair of integral lugs or ears 38 which are apertured tofit over the protruding ends of the pins. The arms 31, when actuated,pivot about their respective pins 36 as will be described more fullylater.

The forward end of each of the rocker arms is provided with a pair ofoppositely disposed integral ear-like appendages or lugs 68, betweeneach pair of which is mounted a roller 39, 40, identical to and mountedin the same fashion as roller 33 hereinbefore described. As illustratedparticularly in Fig. 5, the roller 40 normally contacts the taperedelement 21 near its smaller end whereas the roller 39 is constantly incontact with the surface of roller 33, the rollers 33 and 39 beingdisposed at right angles to one another. It will now be apparent thatwhen the shaft 25 is displaced longitudinally, that is, when it is movedinwardly on its bearings 23 and 24, the tapered surface of element 21will ride over the roller 40 and, due to its camming action, will movethe roller downwardly (viewing Fig. 5) with the result that the lowerrocker arm (Fig. 5) will rotate about the pin 36 causing its hooked armto actuate the spring assembly I4 which is mounted on the shelf-likeextension II of the mounting bracket IIl. During this operation theroller 39 rides freely over the roller 33. When the roller 40 is passedover by substantially the entire length of the tapered portion 21 itfalls into the groove 35, thus being held in its operated positionagainst accidental displacement and by the force of spring 32 which iscompressed during this action. It is apparent from this description thatwhen the shaft 25 is moved inwardly the lower rocker arm 31 (Fig. 5) isactuated to cause it to operate the springs I4, it being understood thatthe outer extremity of the hooked end of the rocker arm is positionedimmediately over the outer spring of this pile-up. The condition whichprevails when the shaft 25 is moved in wardly is illustrated in Fig. 7.To restore the key to normal it is only necessary to pull outwardly onthe shaft 25 to clear the roller 40 of the groove 35, the spring 32 aswell as the tension of the springs I4 then serving to project the shaft25 back to its normal position.

With the key in its normal unactuated position illustrated in Fig. 5,the shaft 25 may be rotated as well as moved longitudinally. Whenrotated, the shaft 25 and the spool 29 also rotate so that roller 33 ismoved in an arcuate path, and being in contact with the roller 39associated with the upper rocker arm 31 (Fig.

against the edge 48 is' in a 5), moves the roller 35 upwardly so thatthe rocker arm is caused .to pivot about its pin bearing 36 and actuatethe springs |5 which are mounted on the bracket extension l2. It isapparent that during the rotary movement of shaft 25 there is no cammingaction between the roller 40 and the tapered element 21, nor does thelatter follow the rotational movement of the shaft. The condition whichprevails when the shaft 25 has been rotated is illustrated in Fig. 6.

The functions of the disc 28 will now be described and for this purposeparticular reference is made to Figs. 8, 9, l and 11. The disc 28 isfundamentally circular but is provided, at one location, with an arcuatenotch defined by the projections 45 and 45 and at another location withan L-shaped cut defined by the projection 41 a'ndthe flat edge 48. Theparallel arm of bracket Hi, to the left in Figs. 8 and 9, is providedwith two substantially rectangular apertures 49 and 55, as clearlydisclosed in Fig. 10, whereas the other arm of bracket H) is providedwith an L-shaped aperture as clearly shown in Fig. 11. These apertures,or the walls defining the same, cooperate with the disc projections insuch a manner as to effect an. interlocking arrangement by virtue ofwhich the shaft 25 may be rotated or moved longitudinally from itsnormal position but cannot experience both movements simultaneously,thereby preventing the actuation of both spring pile-ups l4 and I5 atthe same time. As illustrated in Fig. 8. the shaft 25 is in its normalposition, and in such' position the disc projection 46 abuts upper edgeof the metal piece, or partition, which separates the bracket apertures49 and 55. In this position also, the straight plane parallel to thevertical plane of the arm of bracket Hi shown on the right of Figs. 8and 9, and the face of projection t1 just clears the lower wall of thehorizontal portion of the L-shaped slot 5| and is in vertical alignmentwith the vertical portion of slot 5|. It will be apparent, therefore,that from the normal position illustrated in Fig. 8, the disc 28"may berotated clockwise until the face of projection 45 engages'the upper wallof aperture 59 and during such rotation, the projection 41 passes freelyin the vertical portion of aperture 5|. The position of the disc whenfully rotated is illustrated in Fig. 9. It will be thus observed thatthe shaft 25 may be rotated in a clockwise direction from its normalposition to cause the actuation of the spring pile-up l5 and is limitedin the extent to which it may be rotated by the engagement of projection45 with the underface of the metal partition between apertures 49 and50.

From its normal position (Fig. 8) the shaft 25 may be moved inwardly.During such an operation the disc projection 46 rides along the upperface of the partition between apertures and 59, and the projection 41rides along the face which defines the lower edge of the hori zontalportion of aperture 5|. The straight edge 45 clears the inside face ofthe mounting frame arm shown at the right of Figs. 8 and 9.

The extent to which the shaft 25 may be displaced longitudinally isdetermined by the length of aperture 49 and the length of the horizontalportion of aperture 5| since the projections 46 and 41 abut against therear walls of these apertures when the shaft 25 is moved inwardly.

Not only does the disc 28 and the apertures 49, 55' and 5| constitute aguide arrangement whereby the shaft is guided in its longitudinal androtary displacements, but they also serve to effect an interlockarrangement. It will be observed that when the shaft 25 is movedinwardly, it is impossible to rotate the shaft at any time during suchmovement due to the engagement of projection 41 with the lower edge ofslot 5| as well as due to the engagement of projection 46 with the upperface of the partition between apertures 49 and 50. Similarly, when theshaft is being rotated, it cannot be moved longitudinally due to thefact that the projection 41 and that portion of the disc immediatelybehind it, travels rotationally into the vertical portion of slot 5| andshould an effort be made to move the shaft longitudinally, the discportion moving in the narrow portion of slot 5| would abut against theside walls thereof.

In order to permit the mounting of the key unit at the back of theswitchboard on the apparatus supporting frame and at the same time toallow the device to be actuated from the front of the board, the shaft25 is provided with an extension 60 which is joined thereto by means ofa universal coupling 6|. This coupling is essentially a sleeve havingits two ends flared, with a pin securing the end of shaft 25 to one endof the sleeve and a similar pin securing the end of extension 60 to theother end of the sleeve. The pins are relatively disposed at rightangles so that a limited amount of relative universal movement of theshaft and its extension is permitted. The purpose of such a coupling isto allow for any variations in the alignment of the shaft 25 with thehole in the front of the switchboard through which the extension endprotrudes. A grip or handle 62 is secured to the forward end of theextension 60 to facilitate the operation of the key.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the key structure of this invention is illustrated inits particular application as a telephone switchboard accessory. Thecross-bar l3 of the mounting bracket I0 is furnished with a series oftapped holes which accommodate a corresponding number of screws whichpass through the switchboard frame piece or relay rack 63. In thismanner the key unit is securely held in position. In practice, thepush-turn key constitutes one of the elements of a cord circuit unitwhich includes a pushpush key 65, a plug 66 with its associated cord 61and weighted pulley 18, and a cord terminal block 69. Such units may beadded to the switchboard as required and when the board does not requireall the cord units which it will accommodate, the unused spaces arefurnished with blanks, one such being indicated at 10. EX- cept for thepush-turn key, this equipment does not constitute a part of the presentinvention and has been illustrated merely to show the location andmounting of the push-turn key with respect to other apparatus of thecord circuit unit of which it constitutes an essential ele ment. Thepush-push key indicated generally by the numeral 65 is operated by meansof two buttons located on the sloping section of the board, and in orderto permit the switching device H to be mounted on the rack 63 whichcarries the push-turn key and other switching devices, such as relays,etc., it is necessary that the actuating buttons 65 be coupled to theoperating mechanism of key 1| by means of a flexible shaft or itsequivalent. In Fig. 2, each of the buttons 65 is shown connected to thecontact spring operating mechanism by means of a piece of piano wirewhich is encased in a flexible casing I2.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the switching deviceof this invention is simple and compact in construction, dependable inoperation and is of a design which readily lends itself for use inmodern type telephone switchboards, wherein all the circuit controllingdevices, per se, are mounted on a relay rack at the rear of the boardand certain of which are manually controlled from the front of theboard.

What is claimed is:

1. In a switching device, a mounting frame, a spring assembly supportedon either side of said frame, a plunger mounted on said frame for rotaryand longitudinal displacements to actuate one of said spring assemblieswhen rotated and to actuate the other of said spring assemblies whendisplaced longitudinally, a pair of guide slots in said frame, and meanscomprising a notched disc carried by said plunger and so positionedrelative to said guide slots that a projection thereof effected by thenot-ching is adapted to be selectively moved in either of said guideslots to control the respective longitudinal and rotary displacements.

2. In a switching device, a mounting bracket comprising a pair ofparallel arms joined at one end by an apertured cross-bar and ashelf-like projection formed integral with each of said arms, a springassembly mounted on each of said shelf-like projections, a shaftlongitudinally and rotatably movable in the aperture of said crossbar, arocker arm for actuating each of said spring assemblies, a rollercarried by each of said rocker arms, means carried by said shaft andcooperating with the roller of one of said rocker arms when said shaftis moved longitudinally for causing the rocker arm to actuate itscorresponding spring assembly and other means carried by said shaft andcooperating with the roller on said other rocker arm when said shaft isrotated for causing the said other rocker arm to actuate itscorresponding spring assembly.

3. In a switching device, a bracket, a plurality of independent springassemblies, separate means for actuating each of said spring assemblies,a plunger carried by said frame and arranged to operate one of saidactuating means when moved longitudinally and the other of saidactuating means when rotated, and an interlocking arrangement forprecluding the simultaneous operation of said actuating means comprisinga notched disc carried by said plunger, and guide means comprising apair of right-angularly disposed intersecting slots in said bracket sodisposed relative to said disc that when said shaft is actuated, aprojection on said disc travels freely in either of said slots dependingupon whether the shaft is rotated or moved longitudinally and isprecluded from traversing the other of said slots by the impingement ofthe disc projection with the side walls of the slot in which it ismoving freely.

4. In a switching device, a mounting frame comprising a pair ofparallelly extending arms joined at one end by a cross-bar and held inspaced relation by a spacer at the other end, said cross-bar and spacerhaving aligned apertures, a, shelf-like projection formed integrallywith each of said bracket arms and each supporting a spring assembly,separate means for actuating each of said spring assemblies, a shaftsupported in the aligned apertures of said cross-bar and spacer andarranged to be rotated and moved longitudinally, means carried by saidshaft for actuating one of said spring actuating rocker arms when saidshaft is rotated, means carried by said shaft for actuating the other ofsaid spring actuating arms when said shaft is displaced longitudinallyand means for controlling said shaft in its rotary and longitudinalmovements, said means comprising a notched disc carried by said shaftand an L-shaped slot in one of said bracket arms, a projection of saiddisc effected by the notching thereof normally positioned in theintersection of the two portions of said L-shaped slot whereby, whensaid shaft is rotated, the said disc projection moves into one of theportions of said L- shaped slot and is prevented from longitudinalmovement by the side walls thereof, and when moved longitudinally, thesaid disc projection moves into the other portion of said L-shaped slotand is prevented from rotary motion in one direction by a side wallthereof.

5. In a switching device, a mounting bracket comprising a pair ofparallel arms joined at one end by an apertured cross-bar, a spacerinterposed between the outer ends of the parallel arms of said mountingbracket and having an aperture in alignment with the aperture in saidcross-bar, a shelf-like projection formed integral with each of saidbracket arms and extending outwardly therefrom, a spring assemblymounted on each of said shelf-like projections, a shaft mounted forlongitudinal and rotary displacements in the aligned apertures of saidcross-bar and spacer, a rocker arm pivotally supported near one edge ofsaid bracket arms and having an extension in alignment with the springsof one of said spring assemblies, a second rocker arm pivotally supported near the other edge of said bracket arms and having an extensionin alignment with the springs of the other of said spring assemblies, aroller carried by each of said rocker arms and extending at right anglesto the longitudinal axis of said shaft, a camming device carried by saidshaft and cooperating with the roller of one of said rocker arms whensaid shaft is displaced longitudinally in one direction to cause saidrocker arm to rotate about its pivot support and its extension toactuate the springs of one of said spring assemblies, and a rollercarried by said shaft and cooperating with the roller of said secondrocker arm when said shaft is rotated to cause said second rocker arm torotate about its pivot support and its extension to actuate the springsof the other of said spring assemblies.

6. In a switching device, a mounting bracket comprising two parallellyextending arms joined at one end by an integral cross-bar, a spacerelement interposed between said arms near their ends and rigidly securedthereto, said spacer and cross-bar having aligned apertures, a bearingin each of said apertures, a shaft mounted in said bearings for rotationand longitudinal displacement, a shelf-like extension extendinglaterally from each of said bracket arms, a spring assembly secured toeach of said shelf-like extensions extending parallel to the bracketarms towards the spaced ends thereof, each of said assemblies comprisingmovable and stationary contact springs and said stationary springs beingprovided with integral tangs, an insulator secured to said spacer havingan aperture through which the end of said shaft extends and beingprovided with a series of laterally extending integral spacing lugs uponwhich the tangs of said stationary springs normally rest and the springsthus held in spaced relation, a rocker arm mounted on a pivot pinbridging the two arms of said bracket having an integral extension onone end thereof in alignment with the free ends of the springs of one ofsaid assemblies and having a roller supported at its other end, a secondrocker arm mounted on a pivot pin bridging the two arms of said brackethaving an integral extension on one end thereof in alignment with thefree ends of the springs of the other of said assemblies and having aroller supported at its other end, means carried by said shaft andcooperating with the roller of said first rocker arm for causing saidfirst rocker arm to rotate about its pivot pin when said shaft is movedlongitudinally, whereby the bracket extension aligned with thecorresponding spring assembly engages and actuates the springs thereof,and other means carried by said shaft and cooperating with the roller ofsaid second arm for causing said second rocker arm to rotate about itspivot pin when said shaft is rotated, whereby the bracket extensionaligned with the corresponding spring assembly engages and actuates thesprings thereof.

'7. In a switching device, a mounting bracket comprising two parallellyextending arms joined at one end by an integral cross-bar, a spacerelement interposed between said arms near their ends and rigidly securedthereto, said spacer and cross-bar having aligned apertures, a bearingin each of said apertures, a shaft mounted in said bearings for rotationand longitudinal displacement, a shelf-like extension for each of saidbracket arms integrally formed therewith, a spring assembly secured toeach of said shelf-like extensions and extending in the direction of thelongitudinal axis of said bracket, a rocker arm mounted on a pivotsupport bridging the two arms of said bracket having an integralextension on one end thereof in alignment with the free ends of thesprings of one of said assemblies and having a roller supported at itsother end, a second rocker mounted on a pivot support bridging the twoarms of said bracket having an integral extension in alignment with thefree ends of the springs of the other of said assemblies and having aroller supported at its other end, means carried by said shaft andcooperating with the roller of said first rocker arm for causing saidfirst rocker arm to rotate about its pivot support when said shaft ismoved longitudinally whereby the bracket extension aligned with thecorresponding spring assembly engages and actuates the springs thereof,and other means, carried by said shaft and cooperating with the rollerof said second arm for causing said second rocker arm to rotate aboutits pivot support when said shaft is rotated whereby the bracketextension aligned with the corresponding spring assembly engages andactuates the springs thereof.

8. In a switching device, a mounting bracket comprising a pair ofparallelly extending arms joined at one end by an integral cross-bar andheld in spaced relation by means of a spacer element interposed betweensaid arms near their extremities, said cross-bar and spacer havingaligned apertures, a bearing supported in each of said apertures, ashaft housed in said bearings and arranged for rotary and longitudinaldisplacements, a disc on said shaft, a stop comprising the partitionbetween two apertures located on one of the arms of said bracket, meanscomprising a projection on said disc and one edge of said partition forlimiting the rotational movement of said shaft from normal to aclockwise movement, means comprising another projcction on said disc andthe other edge of said portion for limiting the extent to which saidshaft may be moved in the clockwise direction, guide means on the otherof said bracket arms comprising intersecting right-angularly disposedslots, means comprising still another projection on said disc adapted tobe selectively engaged in either of said right-angularly disposed slotsto guide said shaft in its rotary and longitudinal movements, a pair ofindependent spring assemblies, separate operating means therefor andmeans carried by said shaft adapted to actuate a separate one of saidspring operating means for each of its rotary and longitudinaldisplacements,

9. In a switching device, a mounting frame, a spring assembly supportedon either side of said frame, separate means for actuating each of saidspring assemblies, a plunger mounted on said frame and arranged forrotary and longitudinal displacements, a spool-like member fixed to saidplunger, a roller carrier between the heads of said spool-like memberand extending in the longitudinal plane of said plunger, means carriedby the actuating means for one of said spring assemblies and cooperatingwith said roller for causing said spring actuating means to actuate itscorresponding spring assembly when said plunger is rotated, a conecarried by said plunger and adapted to rotate relative thereto, saidcone having one end abutting said spool member and the other endabutting a pin extending through said plunger whereby sa d cone moveslongitudinally with said plunger, and means carried by the actuatingmeans for the other of said spring assemblies and cooperating with saidcone for causing said spring actuating means to actuate itscorresponding spring assembly when said plunger is displacedlongitudinally.

HUBERT K. KRANIZ.

